Private Pirates, An Old Man, And An Assassin

[Martin Dux]

He sipped the glass of tea, looking out the port window. Space, as far as the eye could see. It was beautiful, nothing could quite compare to the sight. Martin leaned back in the chair, placing the glass on the table. He turned his gaze to the man across from him, examining him. The old man felt... uncomfortable to say the least, not only because he was without his usual robe, but because of the questions he'd been asking.

"So you haven't seen anyone matching that description?" Martin pushed, grabbing his chin.

Sigmund, the captain of this unruly ship, shook his head. "Like I said, sir, I haven't seen anyone like that." he said, in a smooth tone.

There was a rousing chuckle in the crowd of pirates watching the little conversation. There were so many of them in the mess hall, that Martin wondered if Sigmund was afraid of him. But then again, you could never be too careful, especially given the captain's occupation.

Martin sighed, deeply, running a hand over his face. "White, long hair, maybe a bit shorter? He's an Echani, couldn't be older than 30. I've heard he's been working as a mercenary in this area."

"What was his name again?" Sigmund asked, almost mockingly.

"Aleksandr." Martin answered.

There was another chuckle among the crowd. Martin gave a brief snarl, but it subsided quickly. This was pointless, and the old man would be on his way soon. He wasn't going to find the boy this way, even if it was the only lead he had. He couldn't ask the Elysium for help, this was his job, and his problem, he had to fix it.

"Ya know, actually," The pirate captain began, "maybe I have heard that name, I don't know, my memory's a bit hazy. Maybe you could jog it?" He slowly put his hand on the table, signaling his desire for payment.

Martin rolled his eyes. No, he would not pay Sigmund. Martin reached for the tea again, sipping it gingerly. "Let me think about it real quick." He gave a sarcastic smile.

Sigmund glared, as did all the others in the room.


Katella

 

[Katella]

They had often told her, that there are two types of people in the galaxy: Those who seek power, and those who seek to stop them. What did that make her?


As it had done a dozen times in the last few weeks, the transport docked with the ship. The clamps clanked as they engaged. With a deep sigh and the flip of a switch, the teen turned off the engines and put the ship onto standby. Her hands undid the restraints, and she hopped off the pilot chair. She was small in the ship, it clearly hadn't been designed for her, but small modifications made it possible to control it.


She moved quietly down the hall towards the airlock door. A greenlight flashed on the console, and she pressed the button, the doors opening, and pressure equalized between the two ships. For the last few weeks, she had run the pirates supplies, today was no different. With a grin, an impossibly tall twi'lek greeted her. "Heya Runt, whatcha got for us today?"


With a roll of her eyes, the Squib's arms crossed. "Yeah Yeah, Hello to you too Beret." She raised her hand and pointed her thumb behind her. "Ammo and Medical kits, a bit of processed foodstuffs, and…" The Squib grinned ear to ear. "Some Corellian ale for the boss. Some for the rest of you too."


Negotiations were short and sweet. Soon she was paid, and the teen moved deep into the ship as they unloaded the transport. First, she hit a private sabaac game, won just enough to get away with a shiny penny, but not enough that she drew suspicion. It was easy to see straight through these pirates. But the one thing they were was highly armed, and if you won too much, they were liable to kill you, dump your body, and take your ship and supplies for their own.


Now, that brought her to WHY she was on the ship in the first place. After the game, she visited a handful of places to greet "friends" she had made among the crew and deliver personal orders. As she did, she passed by the shield generators, engines, hyperdrive, and power reactor. Out of her pockets the final piece to some handmade explosives were added to hiding places nearby. Each trip, another piece was added, so that never did the pirates that scanned her, and her ship feel like anything had been wrong. See, these pirates had a wide range, they attacked Eternal Empire space, along with some important trade routes, even down into the Elysium Empire. This was a wound to the pride of the Navy. But honestly those guys were helpless.


The ship, its crew, it would disappear. However, there was one far more dangerous on the ship. Captain Sigmund was a former navel officer, a traitor, but also one who had carried enough secrets with him to blackmail a Baron. Before she blew the place, she had to make sure the man had died. The exit would be tough, but it would be what it would be.


Once it was all set, the girl moved into the cantina and stretched. She played with her little bracelet, and let her large yellow eyes settle on the scene in front of her. An older man sat with the captain; all the normal goons surrounded the man in an obvious intimidation tactic. The diminutive young woman leaned against pillar support and took a flash from off her hip. She took a good swig, and let out a happy sigh, like she had taken a shot of whisky or some such.


As the pirates glared at their "guest" the fluffball was paid little to no mind. Instead of acting, she simply watched. Honestly, she wondered if the old man would be a good distraction, or what would happen. Curiosity took center stage, as she allowed time to pass.
Martin Dux

 

[Martin Dux]

Martin put the tea down, slowly, calculated. His eyes moved over the pirates, reading them to the best of his ability. His eyes narrowed, as did Sigmund's. This was a standoff, one Martin intended on winning. He took a deep breath, the atmosphere was so tense, you could cut it with a knife. He felt the weight of his saber, as he hung from his belt. No one had noticed it when he arrived, and he imagined they still didn't notice it. Good.

With a smooth, nonchalant motion, Martin raised his hand into the air. There was a moment, a brief look of confusion passed over the faces of the pirates. Then there was a sound, like the vacuum of space, pulling the air from a ship. Martin had closed his hand into a tight fist, and with it, wails and screams filled the cantina, as every pirate present had their leg bones crushed.

The only one intact was Sigmund. The captain looked on in shock and horror had the mess of bodies on the floor. Martin ran a hand over his face, he'd broken into a sweat.

"Been a while since I've had to do that." The old man said.

Sigmund looked back at him, in horror. Quickly, he reached from his blaster, and just as soon as he had it up, a white plasma blade passed through his hand. The blaster and the severed hand were scattered onto the floor, followed by a scream of pain from Sigmund.

The captain gripped the stub, wincing. "My hand!"

Martin looked at him, surprised. "I'm gonna be honest, I didn't mean to do that." he said, deactivating the saber.

Sigmund looked at him, with a mixture of fear and confusion. "...What!?"

"Well I was just going get rid of the blaster but, hey, we all make mistakes." he leaned in the chair once more. "Now, Sigmund, tell me about Aleksandr."

The tables had turned, severely. Luckily, or unluckily, Martin had not noticed the squib behind the pillar, who watched curiously.


Katella

 

[Katella]

In a single moment the tables had turned. She heard the sound of sucking air; she could hear the audile indication that the bones broke and the screams of the pirates. The hum of the lightsaber filled the air and the scream of the captain as his hand was cut off. The teenager held her breath. There was no fear inside her, no hostility. But for a brief moment, all she could feel was awe. THIS was how the Force should be used. He didn't use hatred, he simply used it to respond to a situation that was in front of him and utilized it to great effect to continue his negotiation. It was a tool. Now, perhaps she was simply imprinting her own feelings upon the situation, but still.


There was no way she could kill the captain until this force user had the answers he sought. At least, no way she could survive from. She had skill, but she lacked a lot of experience. With how quickly the man could react, even if she killed her target right now, it was doubtful she could leave the room. So, she gambled. The explosives were in place, they would go off sooner, or later, even without her having pushed the button. She wanted to be long away from here when that happened.


The small Squib puffed out her cheeks for a moment, then she stepped out from behind the pillar, her hands far away from her sides so no one mistook her for pointing a weapon. Over the groans of the pirates who struggled to get their barrings, she moved towards the table. "Captain. I would very much suggest you tell him what you want to know. You can tell he isn't joking. Any further resistance will get everyone killed; I feel." The small woman strode confidently up towards the table, in her entire meter of greatness.


Her eyes looked at the force user and gave a big grin. "Hi, I'm Kat, and I have NO interest in pissing you off right now. None at all."

Martin Dux

 

[Martin Dux]

Martin looked at the squib as she approached, as did Sigmund. He raised an eyebrow, listening to the young girl's words. She wasn't a threat, and if she was, the girl certainly wasn't trying to be one. Well here's a sight.

"Hullo there, miss... where'd you come from?" His eyes darted from the Kat to the captain. There was an odd amount of recognition in the pirate's eyes.

"The supplier?" The captain whispered. His eyes narrowed, confused, still wincing at the stub of a hand.

"You know her?" Martin questioned.

Sigmund looked at him, fearful. "S-She runs supplies for us."

Martin nodded to himself, thinking it over. This was odd, she seemed so confident, innocent in a way but also... he could feel something else, something deeper than innocence. he sighed.

"Well, Kat, I have no intention of causing further harm to these people." he gestured to the flailing criminals on the floor. "I think I've gotten my point across, although, that doesn't mean you're safe." He glared at Sigmund.

The captain's lip quivered. "You wanted to know about Aleksandr?"

"Yes," Martin stated, calmly, "I do."

Sigmund looked at the Squib in a silent plea, he was afraid, he was scared. He didn't want to die, and the supplier was the only person he saw who could help. Funnily enough, the roles between the two couldn't be more different. Martin had no intention of killing Sigmund and the Squib... well she did.

"Speak." The old man's words knocked the pirate out of his trace. Martin himself kept eyeing Kat, cautiously.

There was still something to her, something he quite couldn't put his feeling on. Maybe it was the force? Maybe she was like him? He shook those thoughts from his head, he needed to focus.

"Aleksandr, he, well," Sigmund gulped, "The time we spoke, he said he was going to Ashlan territory."

Now the captain had Martin's attention. "Ashlan, that's far for someone to travel, even mercenaries."

"That's what I told him, I said it was crazy, it was best to stay local, you know?"

Martin picked up the glass of tea, sipping it. "Did he say anything else?"

Sigmund nodded. "He said he'd be coming back, that he had a job working for some other pirate. I think the guy's name was... Ekun?"

Martin thought, deeply contemplating the man's words. Where had he heard that name before? It sounded familiar. "Is that all?"

"Yeah, that's all I know." Sigmund looked down at the table, then back to Kat, one more plea in his eyes.

Martin looked at the Squib as well. Why are you here, miss?

Katella